News Highlights:

• 12-year-old Palestinian boy dies in Gaza after Israeli authorities refuse to let him leave for medical treatment.
• Syria and Saudi Arabia among 40 countries and organizations attending the U.S. Annapolis meeting.
• Israeli and Palestinian negotiators working on “final document” which may end up with no real content.
• Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says a freeze on settlement activity is not one of Israel’s obligations under the “roadmap plan”.
• UNRWA head says news Israeli restrictions in West Bank will hinder services to Palestinian refugees.

Special Feature:

The special was an indepth look at the issues around the upcoming Annapolis summit and what might be expected to come out of it. Excerpts of an article by leading Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery were read, in which he spelled out why the summit was doomed to fail, and why Israeli officials wanted that result. The panel also talked about the scepticism amongst most Palestinians regarding the summit outcome and referred to comments by Dr. Haidar Eid in Gaza criticizing the new demand that Palestinians must recognize Israel as an exclusive Jewish state.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a November 18th, 2007 report from a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement about Israeli harassment of a high school in Azzoun, that villagers say is part of Israeli military strategy to gain court approval for part of the separation wall.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Seven Palestinians, including one child, killed in Gaza during a mass rally commemorating the late Yasser Arafat; over 50 injured in the clashes between Hamas and Fateh supporters.
• Israel says it may release more Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture before the U.S. sponsored summit on Nov. 26th.
• Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says a precondition for negotiations with the Palestinians is the recognition of Israel as an exclusive Jewish state.
• Olmert also says it has been agreed that Israel can bypass its commitments in the “roadmap plan”, in particular removing illegal settlements.

Feature:

A live interview with Abdallah Omeish, the director of the new documentary about Palestine, called Occupation 101. Abdallah was scheduled to be in Vancouver on November 16th to show his film in two locations, followed by a director-led question and answer. He explained how he was motivated to make the film after visiting Jerusalem and wanted to inform North Americans in particular about the suffering of the Palestinians under occupation and the root causes of the conflict.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a Nov. 13th, 2007 report from the Int’l. Middle East Media Centre about a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley that had just been issued with its sixth demolition order by Israeli authorities.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Ehud Olmert says he will release an undetermined number of Palestinian political detainees before the Annapolis summit and that will be the only “goodwill gesture”.
• Palestinian police launch attacks on Balata refugee camp next to Nablus and clash with fighters from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as part of Mahmoud Abbas’ law and order campaign; Israel agreed to the deployment of the Palestinian police and will agree to further deployments if there are “positive effects”.
• Mahmoud Abbas claims Israel and the U.S. are aiming for a regional peace settlement before George Bush leaves office in 2009.
• New report says 44 Palestinians were deliberately assassinated by the Israeli army in October, 2007; a further 120 were injured.

Feature:

An interview with Valerie Zink, a member of the Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign BIAC, in Vancouver to discuss the international boycott activities against Israel and what is happening locally. Valerie talked about how BIAC was formed and the pickets against Chapters stores in the lower mainland that happen the first three Saturdays of every month from 1-3pm. There was also discussion of how the global boycott movement is growing and the recent statement by the Quebec students federation in support of such actions.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an October 21st, 2007 article in The Observer about a recent report on the brutality of Israeli soldiers against Palestinians.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israel’s new sanctions against Gaza are internationally condemned, and the Israeli Supreme Court gives the government a week to justify its embargo.
• 10 Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups had petitioned the court over the act of collective punishment.
• Human Rights Watch reveals that Israeli forces are preventing Palestinians from receiving medical treatment unless they agree to be informants.
• 4 Palestinians and 1 Israeli soldier killed during Israeli invasion of northern Gaza.
• U.S. firms chosen by the U.S. government will train Palestinian Authority security forces.

Feature:

A live interview with Ali Abunimah, a Palestinian American author and activist and co-founder of the Electronic Intifada. Ali spoke about the failure of the Oslo process and how the situation in Gaza showed that the U.S. and Israel refused to recognize the results of democratic elections. He also talked about his new book “One Country” and the one-state movement that is developing ground as a solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Ali detailed the upcoming conference on this issue in London in November, in which he will be a participant.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of an October 28th, 2007 IPS report quoting part of a talk in Boston by S. African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Tutu compared conditions in Palestine to those of S. Africa under apartheid and said a human rights violation is a human rights violation, wherever it occurs.

Here is an audio file of this show: